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Fever
Fever is Kylie Minogue's eighth studio album. The album was released on October 1, 2001 in Australia & the United Kingdom on Parlaphone Records. It was later released in the United States on February 26, 2002. Album Background In 1998, Kylie was dropped from her label Deconstruction following the poor commercial performance of her sixth studio album "Impossible Princess". She instead signed on to Parlophone and released her seventh studio album "Light Years". The disco and Europop inspired album was a critical and commercial success and was later certified four times-platinum in Kylie's native country, Australia for shipment of 280,000 units, and platinum in the United Kingdom for shipment of 300,000 units. "Spinning Around" was released as the lead single off the album and was a commercial success, attaining a platinum certification in Australia for shipment of 70,000 units, and a silver certification in the United Kingdom for shipment of 200,000 units. She promoted the album by embarking on the On a Night Like This tour. Soon after, Kylie began working on her eighth studio album "Fever". On the album, she collaborated with producers and writers such as British singer-songwriter Cathy Dennis (who co-wrote two songs out of the three she co-produced), Rob Davis (who co-produced and co-wrote three songs) and Richard Stannard and Julian Gallagher (who co-produced and co-wrote three songs). In the vein of "Light Years", "Fever" is a disco and dance-pop album that contains elements of adult contemporary and club music. The album recording took place at studios such as the Biffco Studios in Dublin, Hutch Studios in Chicago, Olympic Studios in London and Stella Studios. Album Composition "Fever" is primarily a dance-pop album, with prominent elements of 1970s-influenced disco and Europop. Jacqueline Hodges from BBC Music wrote that the album is not "pure pop", and is rather characterized by a more adventurous dance-oriented sound. NME critic Alex Needham identified a "filter disco effect", described as "the one that sounds like you've gone under water and then ecstatically come up for air," working on various songs on the album. Needham saw the album as an "update" from the "frothy disco" of "Light Years." Songs like the opening track "More More More" and the closing track "Burning Up" are examples of the disco-influenced production of the album. The former is an uptempo song with a "funky" bassline while the latter was described as a "slow burn" disco song. Teen pop elements appear on songs like "Love at First Sight", which begins with an electric piano intro, and the "aggressive" track "Give It to Me". The lead single "Can't Get You Out of My Head" is a "robotic" midtempo dance and nu-disco song. Many critics felt that various songs on the album (particularly "Come into My World") are similar to "Can't Get You Out of My Head". The title track and "Dancefloor" draw influences from synthpop and club music, respectively. The song "In Your Eyes" contains hints of house and trance music. Minor influences of ambient music surface on the "atmospheric" "Fragile". Kylie's vocal delivery ranges from "sensuous" (in "More More More") to "sweet" (in "Your Love"). The latter track contains instrumentation from an acoustic guitar. Jason Thompson from PopMatters commented that Kylie "knows how to express herself through irresistible melodies and seductive emoting" such as on the title track which makes use of "suggestive panting". Unlike her previous studio efforts, "Fever" does not contain any ballads and the lyrical content of the album chiefly focuses on themes of love and enjoyment. Thompson described the album to be "all about dancing, fucking, and having a good time". In the song "Love at First Sight", Kylie describes how she fell in love with her partner at "first sight" and how it led to good things happening for her. The track "Can't Get You Out of My Head" was termed a "mystery" as Kylie never mentions who the her object of desire in the song is. Lynskey Dorian from The Guardian suggested that she refers to either "a partner, an evasive one-night stand or someone who doesn't know she exists" as her obsession. The production of "Give It to Me" contrasts with its lyrics: Kylie urges her partner to "slow down," but the beat "goes in the opposite direction and tells your body to push it a little more on the dance floor." The lyrics of "Fragile" are simple and aim directly at the "listener's heart". The track "Come into My World" is a "plea for love" as Kylie invites her partner into her life. On the other hand, "Dancefloor" focuses on issues like dealing with an end of a relationship with Kylie celebrating a break-up by "loseing it in the music". Album Cover Kylie's close friend and stylist William Baker, collaborated with graphic designer Tony Hung to create the artwork's concept of electro-minimalism. On the cover (which was photographed by Vincent Peters), Kylie is seen "bound by a microphone cord, literally tied to her craft" and dressed in white leotard designed by Fee Doran (under the label of Mrs Jones) and shoes made by Manolo Blahnik. In her 2012 fashion retrospective book "Kylie\Fashion", Kylie commented on the album's theme, saying: "The whole campaign was so strong, sure, ice cool. Willie's William's styling was incredible and Peters' photography made for a second amazing album cover with him." A new cover was issued for the US version of the album and features a close-up of Kylie biting on a bracelet. Tracklisting #More More More (4:40) #Love at First Sight (3:57) #Can't Get You Out of My Head (3:49) #Fever (3:30) #Give it To Me (2:48) #Fragile (3:44) #Come Into My World (4:30) #In Your Eyes (3:18) #Dancefloor (3:23) #Love Affair (3:47) #Your Love (3:47) #Burning Up (3:59) Critical Reception "Fever" received generally favourable reviews from music critics. At Metacritic (which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics), the album received an average score of 68 based on 15 reviews, indicating "generally favourable reviews". Jason Thompson from PopMatters gave the album an extremely positive review and praised the conception and production of the album, calling it a "perfect album of gorgeous dance music" and claiming that "there probably won't be a better album like it all year long". Chris True from AllMusic also gave it an acclaimed review and enjoyed the simple disco and dancepop music of the album, saying that there is "not one weak track, not one misplaced syrupy ballad to ruin the groove". Alex Needham from NME positively reviewed the album and noted that while the album lacks depth, it is "as effervescent as a foot spa" and that through the album, Kylie "shows the upstarts how it's done". Dominique Leone from Pitchfork Media gave it a favourable review and praised its simple and "comfortable" composition, terming it a "mature sound from a mature artist, and one that may very well re-establish Minogue for the VH1 generation". Alexis Petridis from The Guardian praised the commercial nature of the album and called it "a mature pop album only in that it's aimed at the boozy girl's night out rather than the school disco". Jacqueline Hodges favoured the album's consistency and complimented its commercial prospect, predicting that the album is "going to sell bucket loads". Jim Farber from Entertainment Weekly labelled the album "the best guilty-pleasure retro-dance smash since Eiffel 65's "Blue"", but felt that Kylie "milks the formula (of "Can't Get You Out of My Head") dry on the album". Michael Hubbard from MusicOMH enjoyed the fun nature of the album and said that "if you want something to drive to, dance to, play at a house party or cheer your workmates up with, Fever is for you". Sal Cinquemani from Slant Magazine gave the album a negative review, criticizing Kylie's "painfully precise" vocals and the album's monotony. Chart Performance In Kylie's native country Australia, "Fever" entered and peaked at number one on the Australian Albums Chart on the week of October 21, 2001 and spent a total of five weeks at the position. In this region, it was certified seven-times platinum for shipments of 490,000 units by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). The success of the album in Australia was such that it was listed in the top-ten highest selling albums of the country in both 2001 and 2002, appearing at numbers five and four, respectively. It also became the best selling dance album in the country in both 2001 and 2002. In the United Kingdom, the album entered and peaked at number one on the UK Albums Chart on the week of October 13, 2001, spending a total of two weeks on the position. It spent a total of 70 weeks inside the top 40 of the chart. In this region, the album was certified five-times platinum by the British Phonographic Industry for shipments of 1,500,000 units. The album achieved similar success in other regions. In Austria, the album entered and peaked at number one on the Austrian Albums Chart and spent a total of 29 weeks on the chart. In this territory, it was certified platinum for sales of 15,000 units by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. In Denmark, the album entered and peaked at number four on the Danish Albums Chart and spent one week at this position. In this region, it was certified gold by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. In France, the album entered the French Albums Chart at number 51 and peaked at number 21, spending a total of three weeks at this position. In this region, the album was certified platinum for sales of 100,000 units by the Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. In Germany, the album peaked at number one on the German Albums Chart for two weeks. In this region, it was certified platinum by the Federal Association of Music Industry for shipments of 200,000 units. In Ireland, the album entered the Irish Albums Chart at number two and peaked at number one, spending a total of one week on this position. In New Zealand, the album entered and peaked at number three on the New Zealand Albums Chart, spending a total of one week at this position. In this region, the album was certified double-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand for shipments of 30,000 units. In Switzerland, the album entered the Swiss Albums Chart at number 12 and peaked at number three, spending a total of one week at the position. In this territory, the album was certified double-platinum by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry for sales of 40,000 units. In the United States, "Fever" sold 115,000 copies in its first-week and debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 chart, becoming Kylie's highest charting album in the region till date. In this region, it was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for shipments of 1,000,000 units. In Canada, the album peaked at number 10 on the Canadian Albums Chart and spent a total of two weeks on the chart. In this region, the album was certified double-platinum for shipments of 200,000 units by Music Canada. Fever has reportedly sold over six million copies worldwide. Album Personnel *Kylie Minogue – Primary artist, composer, background vocals *Steve Anderson – Arranger, composer, keyboards, producer, programming *William Baker – Stylist *Adrian Bushby – Mixing *Tom Carlisle – Mixing *TommyD – Composer, mixing, producer *Rob Davis – Composer, drum Programming, engineer, guitar (Electric), keyboards, mixing, producer *Cathy Dennis – Composer, keyboards, mixing, producer, background vocals *Wendy Dougan – Design *Bruce Elliot Smith – Mixing, programming *Tom Elmhirst – Mixing *Greg Fitzgerald – Composer, guitar, keyboards, producer, programming *Pascal Gabriel – Composer, mixing, producer *Julian Gallagher – Composer, Rhodes piano, keyboards, producer *Billie Godfrey – Background vocals *Martin Harrington – Composer, engineer, guitar, keyboards, programming *Ash Howes – Composer, engineer, keyboards, mixing, programming *Anders Kallmark – Engineer, programming *Phil Larsen – Engineer, mixing, programming *Steve Lewinson – Bass *Tom Nichols – Composer, producer *Tim Orford – Mixing *Vincent Peters – Photography *Mark Picchiotti – Composer, mixing, producer *Richard "Biff" Stannard – Composer, guitar, producer, background vocals *Paul Statham – Composer, producer *Alvin Sweeney – Engineer, programming *John Thirkell – Flute, trumpet *Liz Winstanley – Composer *Gavyn Wright – Lead strings *Paul Wright – Engineer, mixing Category:Albums